Five Times Mako Continued Being Wu's Bodyguard
by Sand-wolf579
Summary: ...And one time he didn't have to.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: If somebody would have told me before I watched season four that I would be writing a story about Mako and Earth Kingdom royalty, I would not have believed them. All I knew about Wu before watching season four was that he was a prince that nobody thought was ready for the crown, and my mind went to somebody like his great-aunt, or, in other words, somebody I wouldn't like at all. As for Mako, I haven't exactly been his biggest fan. In the first three season he just seems broody and boring when he's not dating somebody, and even more so when he is. I tolerated him as a character, but never actually liked him.**

 **Both opinions changed within five minutes of seeing Wu and Mako interact with each other in season four. I mean, they're adorable, and I honestly just** _ **had**_ **to write this.**

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It had been a few weeks since Kuvira's attack on Republic City, and they had only just finished rebuilding the city enough for many of the citizens to return. Since they couldn't exactly rebuild the central part of the city, as it had been taken over by the Spirit Wilds and the new portal, they had expanded out, just like they had done three years before when the spirit vines had first started causing trouble, except to a much larger scale.

Everybody contributed what they could to put the city back together. Mako himself felt like he should do more, but with his arm still healing his options were limited. He really couldn't do much to rebuild the city itself, even the airbender kids did more than he could, but there was one thing that Mako _could_ do, and that was helping the citizens move back into the city.

Although, when he stopped to think about it, Mako really wasn't very good at _that_ either. Kids were scared of him, adults thought that he was a hoodlum, and anybody who actually took him seriously became panicked by his attitude. Wu of all people, the royal pain in the butt himself, was much more suited for working with the citizens. Often Mako felt like the only thing he could do was fight off the unruly and violent people, as well as keep Wu on track, because that boy got distracted very easily.

Basically, Mako felt like he was _still_ being Wu's bodyguard, and it wasn't fun.

Even though Mako felt like he wasn't doing enough to fix the situation in the city, he still felt completely exhausted, just like everybody else. After a lot of pestering on his brother's part Mako agreed to take a day off and spend some off time at Air Temple Island, which was the only part of the city that hadn't sustained any damage.

It really was quite calm and relaxing on the island. Mako almost forgot what it felt like to be relaxed. But the atmosphere on Air Temple Island was so peaceful that Mako was ready to believe that it was impossible to _not_ feel at ease there.

"Hey, tough guy, you trying to sleep?" A too loud and very intruding voice asked. Mako barely refrained from groaning. It looked like he was proven wrong.

"No, Wu, I'm just relaxing." Mako said impatiently. So much for having a day off. What kind of break was it if Mako just ended up stuck around the person who he actually needed a break _from?_ "Why don't you go talk to Pema?" It was the only thing that Mako could think of to get Wu off his back.

Mako could feel Wu pouting at him. "Fine. I know when I'm not wanted."

"I seriously doubt that." Bolin mock whispered when the ex-prince had left the room. "Seriously, Mako, what is he even doing here?"

"Pema invited him." Mako reminded his brother. For reasons that he still didn't completely understand, Tenzin's wife had become quite fond of Wu. They worked together to make sure the citizens who were returning to Republic City were set, and Pema often invited Wu to have dinner with her family. It was just Mako's luck that Wu was invited to spend the day on Air Temple Island on his day off.

"But he's so annoying." Bolin whined. He frowned slightly when he saw the way that Mako was looking at him. "What?"

"Nothing." Mako sighed. He just found it really ironic that Bolin was complaining about how annoying Wu was when all day it seemed like the two of them were having this unspoken competition of who could annoy Mako more. At this point Wu was winning, but Bolin really wasn't that far behind him. And with Wu out of the room Mako believed that Bolin may just sneak his way into the winning position.

Regardless of what Bolin was doing, the room really was much quieter now that Wu was in the kitchen with Pema. Maybe today could be relaxing yet. Not five minutes after he had thought that a sudden and powerful gust of wind blew in. Mako only needed three guesses to know where the wind had come from.

"Mako, Bolin, come play with us!" That was Ikki. Huh, she would have been Mako's second guess. Meelo was his first choice. Kai was his third guess, and Jinora wasn't even in the running.

"Ooh, what are you playing" Bolin asked.

"We were going to play tag, but we can't have a good game with just four people." Meelo said as he ran into the room behind his sister. He said it in his serious tone, even though there was nothing serious about a game of tag.

"What's going on in here?" Pema asked as she came in from the kitchen with a tray of dumplings. Wu came in right behind her, with little Rohan practically glued to his side. That was another thing that Mako really didn't understand. For some reason the three year old liked being with Wu, who, in return, absolutely adored Rohan.

"We want to play tag, but they're too lazy to join us." Ikki pointed an accusing finger at Bolin and Mako, even though neither of them had said that they didn't want to play. She did have a point though. Mako had no intentions of playing tag, and even though Bolin seemed interested Mako knew he wouldn't actually end up playing. Even Bolin was too tired to be running around like that. Besides, the both of them were really too old to play something like tag...actually, weren't the airbender kids getting too old for the game too?

"I wanna play." Little Rohan spoke up. His older siblings faces all brightened. Their mother's, however, did not.

"I don't think that's such a good idea." Pema said to her youngest. "You're a lot smaller than they are." Not to mention the others all naturally used airbending in their games, and that was something Rohan couldn't do. The boy was three years old and still hadn't shown any signs of airbending. Bumi and Tenzin both thought that Rohan was a non-bender, because they were familiar enough with the early signs of an airbender. Kya, Katara and Pema on the other hand insisted that he was just a late bloomer, and they had much better instincts when it came to these matters. As it was though, he couldn't bend.

"We'll be gentle." Jinora promised.

"Yeah, we'll keep him safe." Ikki added sincerely.

"Oh, really?" Pema crossed her arms and looked sternly at her kids. "Last time you said that Rohan fell out of a tree."

"He didn't get hurt." Meelo said, which was true. Jinora's quick thinking and airbending had softened the blow, but it was still a close call.

"Still, I would feel better if someone older played too." Pema eyed Mako, who pointedly avoided her gaze. He knew she wanted someone to spend the game keeping an eye on Rohan, but he really didn't want to be the one to do it.

"Well, why doesn't Wu play." Mako asked to try to get out of the game himself. "He's never played tag before." Immediately all eyes were on Wu.

"You haven't? Why not?" Ikki asked quietly, as though it was the saddest thing she had ever heard that somebody had grown up and never played tag.

"He was raised in the palace." Mako reminded everybody. "Who do you think he would have played with?"

"Nobody, I guess." Jinora frowned slightly. She looked at Wu thoughtfully. "Do you want to play? It's a really easy game to learn."

"I help you." Rohan tugged at Wu's sleeve, which just made the ex-prince smile.

"Well, how can I say no to that?" Wu said enthusiastically. He then turned to Pema and bowed ever so slightly. "I swear, I will keep an eye on Rohan for you."

"I'm sure you will." Pema smiled, satisfied with the arrangement. The second they got their mother's approval the airbender kids dashed outside to play, with Kai leading the charge and Rohan and Wu bringing up the rear.

"I don't know where they get their energy from." Bolin stretched. "They've been working just as much as us, and I'm exhausted."

"They're kids." Mako said. Surprisingly mature kids at times, with more responsibility and power than many adults could imagine, but kids nonetheless. "It's what they do."

"It's what some adults do as well." Tenzin spoke up suddenly, which surprised Mako slightly. The airbending master had been so quiet that Mako had almost forgotten he was in the room at all. "I don't think my brother will ever get over his childish games." Tenzin didn't sound all that bothered by it though. More like he was just pretending to be annoyed.

"Bumi's gotten so serious though." Bolin said with a slight frown. Tenzin just looked confused by the remark.

"I assure you, he's no more serious than he's ever been." Tenzin said. "Bumi pretends to be serious, and he may know how to get a job done, but he still takes every opportunity he can to act like a child."

"Sounds like you, little bro." Mako smirked and ruffled Bolin's hair, which he didn't like one bit. Somehow the conversation turned to Mako and Tenzin exchanging stories about their brothers and their exploits. Bolin pretended to be offended about the whole thing, but when Pema started sharing her embarrassing stories about Tenzin he tossed in a few of his own about Mako. It may not have been the relaxation and peace that Mako had been looking for, but the conversation was familiar and easy, which was, in some ways, even better.

They had been talking for awhile before Tenzin realized that Pema seemed to be nervous. "Is something the matter, dear?" He asked with concern.

"No, and that's the problem." Pema frowned slightly. "The kids have been out there for awhile, and nobody's come in screaming about how someone is cheating, or how they fell and scraped their knee...nothing."

"I'm sure they're fine." Mako assured her, though he wasn't feeling all that positive about it. The airbender siblings were always getting on each others nerves about something. Add in a toddler and a spoiled rotten prince and they definitely should have heard something by now. Maybe it would be a good idea for somebody to go out and check on things. Mako was about to volunteer when they heard some terrified screams coming from outside.

Within seconds the four adults were at their feet and running outside, all of them fearing the worst. Once outside they were immediately greeted by Ikki, who barrelled into her mother's arms looking absolutely terrified. Jinora, Meelo and Kai were all right behind her. None of them looked as scared as Ikki, but Jinora and Meelo still looked freaked out. Even Kai looked unsettled.

"What happened?" Tenzin asked. "Is somebody attacking the island?"

"N-No." Jinora said with only a slightly shaky voice. "We were playing tag and Rohan stepped on a beehive. There was...there were so many of them. We panicked." Mako nodded. He didn't blame the kids for getting scared. Bees could be pretty scary, especially when there were so many of them. The good thing was that they were all okay and...wait a second.

"Where's Rohan?" Pema asked fearfully.

"And Wu." Mako added, because the ex-prince was definitely not there with them.

The kids all looked at each other. "I thought they were right behind us." Kai muttered.

"You left your baby brother with a swarm of bees?!" Oh, Pema did not sound happy. Mako paled when she said that, because as immature as Wu could be sometimes, he wouldn't ever leave little Rohan alone and in danger. So if Rohan was still near with the bees, than Wu must have been too, which was not a good thing at all.

Tenzin immediately ran off towards where the kids had been playing, and Mako was right at his heels, a sick feeling twisting up in his stomach. Tenzin, even with his age, outran Mako and was already airbending gently but firmly at the bees to make them go away. By the time Mako got there the bees had scattered, but he was still nervous about what he saw.

Wu was on the ground and shaking, his body curled protectively around Rohan who was crying. Tenzin took Rohan into his own arms and tried to calm him down while Mako focused his attention on Wu. He didn't think had ever been so unsettled that the ex-prince wasn't crying out 'Wu down.' before.

"Wu!" Mako put his arms around Wu and forced him to uncurl so he could get a good look at him. Wu's throat looked swollen and he seemed to be having a hard time breathing, which definitely wasn't a good sign. Wu was conscious, but his eyes were dazed and completely unfocused. He also had a bunch of nasty looking hives where the bees had stung him. Overall, he really wasn't looking good. He needed a healer.

"Is Kya or Katara here?" Mako asked urgently. Both women had come to Republic City to help get things back to normal.

"Kya's back at the temple." Tenzin responded quickly, and that was all Mako needed to hear. He draped Wu over his shoulders and ran back to the temple. He tried to balance going quickly and keeping Wu steady. It ended up slowing him down quite a bit and Tenzin soon passed him.

"M-Mako?" Wu's voice was shaky, probably half from fear and half from the effects of all the bee stings.

"Don't talk." Mako scolded gently. If Wu was having a hard time breathing than the last thing that he needed to be doing was trying to talk. "You're going to be fine Wu, just relax and focus on breathing.

"Silly Mako." Wu laughed slightly, which just turned into a cough, which, of course, made it even harder for him to breath. It took a moment for Wu to calm down enough to speak again. "I k-know how to breath."

"You're not really boosting my confidence here." Mako said. "Just shut up and let me do my job." He just naturally said what was spoken often when he was Wu's bodyguard. Neither of them even remembered that Mako didn't work for Wu anymore. Mako was too focused on getting back to the temple, and Wu was just too out of it.

By the time they got to the temple Tenzin had passed Rohan to Pema, who was carefully taking the bee stingers out while Kya soothed the stings with her waterbending. Kya took one look at Wu and turned her full attention to him, leaving Pema and her other kids to calm down Rohan.

"What happened to him?" Kya asked as Mako lowered Wu to the ground and knelt next to him.

"He's allergic to bee stings." Mako said.

"No, 'm 'llergic to strawberries." Wu tried to insist.

"No, you're allergic to bees." Mako said. He had no idea how Wu could keep on mixing the two up.

"Uh, yeah, I gotta agree with Mako on this one." Kya used her healing over Wu's throat to try to bring the swelling down so he could breath easier. Mako got to work getting the stingers out. Wu was basically rambling the whole time, but Mako mostly just blocked out what he was saying. He started paying attention when he heard Wu directly address him.

"You saved me again." Wu said quietly. He practically snuggled up against Mako. "Always saving me."

"Stop talking, kid, okay?" Kya asked.

"M'kay." Wu said.

"What, so you'll listen to her?" Mako frowned slightly. "And you know, I won't have to keep saving you if you would stop getting yourself into these situations."

"Yeah, but we all know that you'll keep saving him anyways." Bolin commented unhelpfully. Mako glared at him. "What? It's true. You're his bodyguard, it's what you do."

"I'm _not_ his bodyguard!" Mako all but shouted. Those days were over.

"Really?" Bolin raised an eyebrow at him. "Because you were definitely in a hurry to go, you know, protect him, guard his body...like a bodyguard.

"Shut up." Mako snapped, because he _really_ wasn't talking about this. Despite what Bolin said, Mako was _not_ Wu's bodyguard. Just because he had been concerned about Wu's safety didn't mean he was one. It just meant that it had become habit by now...and also that Mako had actually grown to care about Wu at least a bit and didn't want something bad to happen to him. But he wasn't going to tell anybody else that.

Rohan had calmed down by this time and desperately wanted to be by Wu. His feet were absolutely covered in bee stings though, so Pema carried him over. Rohan curled up against Wu, who leaned into the contact. Mako knew from experience that Wu was a very physical person. He hadn't gotten very much physical affection as a child, so now Wu craved it. Mako himself wasn't a fan of physical contact, so things always ended up with either Mako being uncomfortable or Wu being gloomy because he wasn't getting the attention that he wanted.

Mako was just glad that Wu was starting to get more people to get physical affection from. It would make things better and easier for the both of them. It would also be good for Wu to have some friends besides just Mako...not that they were friends, they were just….yeah, okay, they were friends.

"Hey, Mako?" Wu said. Mako should have known that him being silent wouldn't last long.

"Yeah?" Mako said casually as he worked at getting the last stinger out.

"Thank you." Wu smiled at him, and Mako really couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Anytime." Mako said, and he was surprised to find that he actually meant it. His tone turned stern in a second. "But never do that again." Just because he was willing to do something didn't mean that he wanted it to happen.

"I won't." Wu said, even though they both knew that it was a promise he couldn't keep. Wu had a way of running into trouble. Whether the next time included bees or not, only time would tell. Mako just had to keep on his toes, because goodness knows that Wu wasn't going to. That guy really needed to learn how to take care of himself. Until that happened though, Mako supposed that he could watch Wu's back for him...but _only_ until he could do it for himself.

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 **A/N: I actually mostly wrote this because, as far as I can tell, nobody has written about how Wu is allergic to bees. I mean, I don't know about you guys, but Prince Wu being allergic to something, and he always forgets what exactly he's allergic to, just seems to be a scenario waiting to be written out. Maybe somebody else already has, but I haven't seen it, so I did it for myself.**


	2. Chapter 2

It took a few more weeks, but Republic City was beginning to return back to normal. Most of the citizens had moved back into the city and there was less construction and settling that needed to be going on. To celebrate the fact Asami (She and Korra had returned from their vacation a few days before, though they were talking about going back sometime soon.) invited the old team back to her place for the night to catch up properly, which they really hadn't done for a few years.

It had been really nice to catch up again, but it really wasn't exactly like old times. After all, Mako and Bolin's family, as well as Wu, were still living at Asami's place, and none of those guys knew how to stay out of someone else's business. The night ended up differently than Mako had wanted, but he was surprisingly okay with it. He still enjoyed himself.

Mako though had misunderstood Asami. When she invited them to spend the night at her place, he had assumed that she meant that they should all hang out in the evening and return to their own homes for the night. But no, apparently when Asami said they should spend the night, she meant that they should spend the _entire_ night.

Mako really hadn't felt so sure about the idea and would have left, even if he was the only one to do so, but literally everybody else practically forced him to stay. They were the only reason that Mako agreed to stay behind...well, that and by the time he had decided to leave it was storming really badly outside. It definitely wasn't weather that he wanted to go walking around in. He knew what it was like to be out in a storm, and it wasn't an experience he wanted to repeat.

Of course, when he heard what the sleeping arrangements were he was tempted to walk out into the pouring rain anyways, despite the weather. Even though Asami's house was huge, Mako's family was as well. With that many people even a house as large as Asami's could seem crowded at times. Mako, Bolin, and Korra would all have to share a room with at least one other person.

Asami quickly invited Korra to room with her. Tu and Bolin had agreed to share a room without even having to talk about it (Mako had a strong feeling that the two of them would stay up all night, fighting over who was the better earthbender...Bolin was.) Before Mako could suggest that he just sleep on a couch or something Wu came forward and insisted, absolutely _insisted_ that Mako be his roommate for the night.

Mako wanted to refuse, but Wu had already clung to his arm and he was not going to let go. Mako frowned at Wu's tight grip because it felt like it was more than just him being possessive. Wu was clinging to him in such a desperate way that Mako could tell that he was genuinely scared about something. Wu may be a coward, but there was a difference between his 'Wu down' fear and his genuine fear, and Mako had come to recognize which was which. This was definitely in the later category. It just took a minute for Mako to remember why.

"You still not a fan of storms?" Mako asked with a whisper. Wu shook his head and let out a sound that was something like a whimper when a particularly loud roll of thunder shook the room. Wu was clinging so tightly to Mako's arm by that time that he was sure that it would bruise later. Mako sighed. "Come on, let's get you back to the room. You can sleep through the storm." Wu nodded and Mako didn't hesitate to lead him back to his room.

"You know, Bolin used to be afraid of storms too." Mako said as they walked. "He got over it though when I told him to imagine that the storm, with the rain, wind, thunder and lightning, was just a couple of master benders training." Mako was trying to be helpful, but somehow his words made Wu even more tense than before.

"I already do." Wu said in a quiet shaky voice. "That's the problem."

Mako stopped in his tracks. "Wait, you're saying whenever there's a storm it makes you think of benders?" And yet he was still scared? It worked with Bolin. "Why does that scare you?"

"Because they're close, and powerful, and dangerous and want to hurt me." Wu cried out. Mako frowned.

"You know, I'm not going to let anybody hurt you." Mako said.

"I know, but you're not always around." Wu frowned. "You weren't when Kuvira's people kidnapped me."

"I know, and I'm sorry." Mako said for what felt like the hundredth time, and he still felt horrible about it. Mako took Wu's face and forced him to look him in the eyes. "But I'm not going anywhere tonight. You're safe with me, okay." He wasn't going to let anybody hurt Wu, and he almost felt sorry for any idiot who dared to even try.

Mako and Wu continued on to their room and Wu immediately collapsed onto the bed in a very ungraceful and un-princely way. Mako couldn't help but smile at the familiarity of it all. When he was Wu's bodyguard he often stayed in his room with him, and no matter how dignified Wu tried to act he always jumped onto his bed in the same way. It was just what he did.

Mako went to settle himself down in the chair on the other side of the room (it was actually a really big room) but Wu grabbed his arm before he could.

"Mako, you said you weren't going to leave me." Wu whined. His eyes filled up with tears. Mako frowned and easily pulled out of Wu's grasp.

"And I won't, but I'm not going to be sleeping in the bed with you." Mako narrowed his eyes at Wu, because he knew that that was ultimately what the younger man was after. Wu liked to snuggle in his sleep, especially when he was upset or scared, and Mako really wasn't in the mood for being his stuffed teddy platypus bear. He was never really in the mood for it.

Of course, there had been a handful of times when Wu had somehow convinced Mako to stay in the bed with him, sans cuddling. After seeing Wu's wide, desperate and nearly terrified eyes Mako knew that this was going to end up being one of those nights, and there really wasn't any point in him fighting it.

Mako sighed and sat down on the bed next to Wu. "Fine, I'll stay with you." He pointed a warning finger at his friend. "But you had better stay on your side of the bed. And no cuddling!"

"You got it, Mako." Wu agreed cheerfully. He was obviously relieved about the compromise.

...And that was how, two hours later, Mako found himself wide awake with Wu clinging to his arm in his sleep as he lounged on the bed, practically sleeping on top of Mako. He tried multiple times to pull his arm away from Wu or shake him away enough to get him to move, but it wasn't working. When Wu felt safe he slept like a rock.

Mako had a much harder time falling asleep. It wasn't because Wu sleeping right up against him made him uncomfortable (although that was part of the reason too) but because of the storm. Unlike Bolin and Wu, Mako really liked storms. Even when he was a child he could stay awake all night and listen to the weather.

Mako didn't fall asleep, but he definitely felt calmer listening to the storm outside. He closed his eyes and just let the familiar sound lull him into a sense of security. He didn't know how long he was laying there for, he might have started dozing off at one point though. A sudden noise from outside shocked him awake. It had been a quiet sound, but it stood out so much against the storm that Mako couldn't help but take notice of it.

Mako sat up and looked towards the window, concentrating as hard as he could. At first Mako heard nothing that didn't belong. He was just beginning to think that maybe he had imagined the noise when he heard it again, slightly louder this time.

Mako frowned when he heard the sound again, because it was something that he recognized, and he knew that this particular sound didn't belong in a storm. It was the shifting of the earth, like a bender was outside, and nearby too. If it wasn't storming horribly outside Mako would think that it was Bolin or Tu out there, or even some other earthbender, training or something, but _nobody_ would be crazy enough to be out there during a storm.

...unless they were specifically using the natural noise of the weather to block out their own noise.

It was a crazy idea, and definitely a leap in logic, but it was what came to Mako's mind. Those paranoid thoughts made Mako feel on edge, and when he got nervous he got protective and productive. Mako moved off the bed, slowly so as to not wake up Wu, and lit a small flame in his hands. He had promised Wu, and himself, that he wasn't going to let anything happen to him, and Mako was going to _make sure_ that he kept that promise.

Barely a minute after Mako lit his flame a fairly large rock was thrown harshly into the window, shattering it. The noise woke Wu up, which Mako was not happy about. If something was wrong (no, forget if, something bad was _definitely_ about to happen) then the last thing that Mako needed was for Wu to get scared and clingy.

"Mako? What's going on?" Wu's voice was shaky, tired, dazed and confused. He somehow knew that he was in danger, but he was still half asleep and probably had no idea why he even felt like he was in danger in the first place.

"Get down and be quiet." Mako snapped harsher than was probably necessary, but he needed Wu to stay out of the way. Just seconds after Wu had crouched down at the side of the bed Mako saw a shadowy figure in the window. He reacted instinctively. Mako charged forward and sent a kick towards the intruder, sending a trail of fire from his foot.

The intruder dodged the flames with such agility and precision that Mako knew he was dealing with a professional, not just some bum off the streets. The guy's talent was further shown by how he naturally transitioned from defensive to offensive. As he was in the middle of the dodge the guy earthbent a large and heavy slab of rock from outside and sent it hurtling towards Mako.

He tried to dodge out of the way, but for such a large rock it came at him so quickly. It was also a lot bigger, sturdier and heavier than the rocks he was used to, the kind they used in pro bending, so when it hit him in the head it hit him hard.

The hit didn't knock him out (thank Raava for that. Mako didn't even want to think about what would have happened if it had) but it left him pretty dazed. His vision went white at the first contact that the rock made with his head and it took awhile for his vision to even begin to clear up. When he could see again, even if it was in double, the intruder was moving in on Wu, who had scurried away from the bed and was standing, cowering in the corner at the other end of the room.

Mako tried to stumble forward to help him, but the slightest movement caused his head to explode in pain. He knew that he wouldn't be able to do anything to stop the intruder, who was moving swiftly, from getting to Wu, who had absolutely nobody to protect him right then.

Mako never would have been able to guess that Wu would be able to protect himself, even just a little bit.

As the intruder reached out towards Wu the ex-prince reacted instinctively. Wu let out a terrified yelp, shut his eyes tight, and moved his hands quicker than Mako had ever seen them go before. _Jab. Jab. Jab._ And suddenly the intruder's right side, his arm, his hand, even his leg a little bit, became lax. Mako's eyes widened at the sight.

Where had Wu learned how to chi block?

The intruder wasn't nearly as surprised as Mako was. He had been chi blocked before, and in Mako's opinion one of the worst parts of it was the surprise of dealing with the change of energy. This guy though still seemed completely in control. This set off warning bells in Mako's head. This guy was definitely somebody who knew what they were doing. They seemed just way too professional to him.

Mako needed to get that guy away from Wu. _Now!_

Despite how sore he felt and how much his head felt like lead, Mako mustered his strength and punched out a blast of fire. The intruder dodged away from the fire once again, but it didn't work as well this time around. Mako thought he might have even heard a grunt of pain when the flame almost directly hit hit left arm, burning it pretty badly. With his left arm injured and his right side unusable at the moment, there wasn't much he could do now, and the intruder knew it.

As suddenly as he had come in, the intruder was gone. Without warning or reason he just jumped back out the window and was gone into the night. Even with the stranger gone Mako couldn't bring himself to relax. He felt extremely paranoid that the guy would come back, or someone else would have the same idea. It felt silly to feel paranoid about this kind of thing, except not really because his paranoia had been completely within reason last time.

"Mako?" Wu's voice was quiet, which definitely wasn't like him, and he sounded completely terrified.

"Wu!" Despite the pain in his head Mako staggered over to where Wu was. The ex-prince had, once again, collapsed to the ground (Mako swore that the young man's legs turned to jelly when he was scared). Mako wanted to ask where he had learned how to chi block, or if he had any idea who was behind this attack. Mako's personal theory was that it was a Dai Li agent who was desperate for the monarchy to be back in control so that the Earth Kingdom's secret police could be back on top, but if Wu didn't already believe that then he didn't want to say anything. There wasn't any point in worrying Wu needlessly.

In the end though Mako could only ask one of the questions that was plaguing his mind. "Are you okay?" Mako asked. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Wu shook his head as his eyes filled with tears. Mako was taken aback when Wu suddenly let out a rather loud sob that sounded more like a wail. The young man bounded forward and buried his head in Mako's chest. Wu did this kind of thing fairly often, and Mako usually shied away from this kind of contact, but he embraced it this time. Literally.

Mako put his arms protectively around Wu and just held him tightly. He barely even noticed that Wu was getting his shirt covered in snot and tears, and he definitely wasn't paying attention to his babbling.

Mako was just glad that Wu was safe.

Still, he wasn't going to take any more chances with this. Mako wasn't going to let his guard down this time. If anybody else came around for Wu, Mako would be ready for them. He wasn't even concerned about dozing off in the middle of the night. He didn't think he _could_ sleep even if he wanted to...and as long as Wu was in danger, he didn't.

Mako ended up not sleeping a wink that night...and from that point on neither did Wu.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Fair warning to you all, but Mako might come off as a bit OOC in this chapter. He's a _little_ bit cruel, but he thinks it's for a good reason, and it's kinda something that I can see Mako doing. So, uh, yeah, I would appreciate it if you would just go with it and I hope that it's not _too_ out of character for him.**

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Mako knew that Wu needed to learn self defense. He knew that their last attempt had been a miserable fail, but this time was different. This time Mako at least knew that Wu had something to build up _from._ Also, they weren't doing it at Asami's place. Mako loved his grandmother, but he knew they would never get anything done if she smothered Wu so much. The young man was already prone to collapse and curl in on himself when he felt threatened, as though he hoped that by doing so it would make his enemies leave him alone. Mako couldn't have his grandmother encouraging this behavior, especially not if it was the first thing that they needed to work on.

Mako knew that it would be hard to teach Wu that it was actually safe for him to stand up for himself, but he had an idea of how to go about doing it...it was a horrible idea, and Mako hated it, and he was sure that Wu would hate him if he knew what the plan was. But it had to be done. Wu had to be kept safe, and if this was the best way to make that happen, then so be it.

Because it was impossible to teach Wu how to defend himself at Asami's place (Mako's grandmother would be hovering over them every second) Mako had Asami drive him and Wu to the pro-bending arena. The training rooms would be the perfect place to teach Wu how to hold his own in a fight. That's what the rooms were _for._

Asami pulled up in front of the pro-bending arena. Wu immediately got out, but Asami grabbed Mako's arm before he could follow.

"Are you sure you don't want anybody else there to, you know, help?" Asami asked.

"I'm sure." Mako frowned slightly. He couldn't have anybody else around, and Asami knew this. She was just asking about it because she didn't completely support his idea. She thought that it was too harsh. Mako knew that if Asami was around while he tried to train Wu then she would interfere within just a few minutes.

"Alright." Asami let go of his arm. "Just...don't go _too_ hard on him, okay?" It was really weird for Mako to hear that Asami was worried about Wu, but it wasn't all that surprising. Wu had been living at Asami's place for awhile now, and even though they weren't exactly good friends, she had definitely warmed up to being around him. Especially since Wu had stopped trying to 'flirt' with her.

"I'll try." Mako promised sincerely, and he really would. Asami sighed. It was clear that there was more she wanted to say, but she knew that nothing she said would change Mako's mind.

"Alright. I'll see you boys in a few hours." Asami waved goodbye to the two of them before she pulled away with the satomobile and drove off at a speed that only _she_ could handle going at while still being in complete control. Mako swore that that woman didn't _know_ how to drive the satomobile at a slower speed.

"Mako, hurry up!" Wu ordered from where he impatiently waited in front of the door to the arena. Mako shook his head and made his way to join him.

"Wu, we've talked about how you can't just order people around like that." Mako reminded his friend. "It just angers people, and nobody wants to listen to it."

Wu pouted slightly, which he often did whenever he was scolded. "What else was I supposed to do?"

"You could have waited for thirty seconds like any normal human being would." Mako said with more bite to his tone than he had intended. He was not looking forward to this training, and he was taking it out on Wu. Mako knew that it wasn't right or fair, but it was the way that it happened. "Come on, let's get started."

Mako led the way upstairs to the training rooms. Mako found some old helmets lying around and passed one of them to Wu. It was a little big for him, but it would get the job done. The two young men then took off their shirts and jackets so they were in their undershirts. They were ready to begin.

"Alright, so, are we picking up where we left off last time?" Wu asked as he threw some quick mock punches that made him look ridiculous.

Mako took a deep breath and prepared himself for what he was about to do. He just hoped that Wu would forgive him for it someday. "Not exactly." Mako said before he lunged forward and punched Wu's chest. It was a light punch, one that probably felt more like a light shove and wouldn't even leave a bruise. Still, Wu reacted as though he had been hit by a brick wall.

"Ow!" Wu fell to the ground dramatically and curled up in a fetal position. "Wu down. Wu d- _agh!_ " Wu cried out in genuine pain when he was met with a harsh kick to the side that definitely _would_ bruise.

"M-Mako, what was that? Wu asked as he curled further into himself. Mako felt really bad for kicking Wu when he was down, but he forced himself to not show it, because he knew that it had to be done.

"Get up." Mako said. When Wu didn't even attempt to get to his feet Mako set another sharp kick to his side. Not hard enough to do any real damage, but enough that it would be sore later. "Get up now!"

Wu whimpered and curled in on himself further, but when Mako moved to kick at him again the ex prince scrambled to get to his feet. Wu was quickly learning. Mako just hoped that this lesson would stick, otherwise he this would all be for nothing and Mako would feel even worse about it than he already did.

"Are you ready for it this time?" Mako asked as he got back into a fighting position. Wu grimaced and kept his hands curled up at his side, but at least he wasn't on the ground anymore.

Once again Mako lunged forward and aimed a punch at Wu. This hit was harder than his last one had been, and once again Wu instantly fell to the ground like he was used to doing. Before he could even properly cry out ' _Wu down!'_ Mako had already moved in to kick Wu, again, though this time he used just a little bit of firebending to heat things up a bit.

"O-ow." Wu whimpered weakly as he curled up in a tight ball, clenching at his sore sides. Mako gave him a minute to catch his breath and adjust to the pain. After that minute had passed and Wu hadn't moved from his spot on the floor, Mako knew that he had to interfere.

"Get up, Wu." Mako said coldly, but also, he hoped, not cruelly.

"N-no." Wu sniffled. "You'll just hit me again."

"Which hurt more?" Mako asked. "The punches? Or the kicks?"

"...The kicks." Wu said in a quiet tone.

"And the only reason I'm able to kick you in that way is because you're just lying there." Mako said. "If you just wait around on the floor and hope for your enemies to go away, it's just going to make you an easier target. An assassin or kidnapper won't leave you alone just because you go 'Wu down'. They'll take advantage of that vulnerability and strike while you can't defend yourself. Do you understand?"

"...No." Wu answered honestly. Mako sighed.

"Basically, things will hurt a lot more if you curl up on the ground." Mako surmised. "It's just _begging_ for somebody to come along and cause some real damage."

"W-what else am I supposed to do?" Wu finally looked up at Mako, and the firebender immediately wished that he hadn't. Wu's eyes were wet with unshed tears and full of pain and betrayal. Mako hated that look in his eyes. Especially when it was directed at _him._

(Especially since he knew that he deserved it).

"You can fight back." Mako held out a hand to help Wu to his feet. The ex prince eyed his hand suspiciously before pulling himself to his feet without help. Mako tried to tell himself that he wasn't hurt by this (Wu being independent was what he wanted. There wasn't any point in Mako getting upset because Wu was finally deciding to do something for himself).

"How am I supposed to do that?" Wu asked with a yelp as Mako quickly hit him with yet another punch. The hit made Wu stagger a bit, and it made his legs start to shake as though he was having a difficult time holding his own weight. Still, Wu kept his balance and didn't fall over.

"That'll come in later." Mako said. His tone was cold, though he was feeling extremely sorry for what he was doing. Mako sent a kick to Wu's knee, which caused the young man's leg to buckle beneath him, sending him sprawling to the floor. And, as much as he hated it, Mako knew that he had to keep consistent with this, so he kicked at Wu while he was down. Right in the gut.

"First though, you need to learn how to stand on your own two feet when there's conflict." Mako said without emotion. On the inside though he just hoped that Wu was a quick learner.

Asami came to pick them up nearly an hour earlier than she and Mako had previously decided, and she wasn't a moment too soon. By this time both Mako and Wu were completely miserable. Wu hadn't said a word to Mako in almost two hours, and the firebender couldn't blame him. Wu was walking with a slight limp, he had so many bruises that Mako was worried that there might be some internal damage, and Wu had a broken and still bleeding nose because Wu had tried to duck out of the way of a punch from Mako and only succeeded in being hit in the face instead of the chest.

Wu was completely beat up, and it was all Mako's fault.

Asami took one look at Wu and snapped a disapproving glare at Mako. He just sighed and got in the satomobile next to Asami while Wu curled up in the back. Mako let Asami glare at him, because he deserved it. He had hurt Wu. Even if he had done it for a good reason. Even if all of Wu's injuries were superficial and would only hurt for the next few days. Mako had hurt Wu, and he didn't think that he would ever be forgiven for it.

And even if he was, he didn't think he would ever forgive himself.

The second they got back to Asami's Wu leapt out of the vehicle and ran inside, though he did stumble a few times because of his flight limp. Mako stayed where he was, and so did Asami.

"So, I'm guessing things didn't go too well?" Asami asked.

Mako groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "Please, Asami, don't lecture me about this." Mako said. "I already feel terrible enough about it."

"Well, I should hope that you feel bad about this." Asami said sharply. "Could you really not think of another way?"

"He had to learn." Mako said.

"At least tell me that your insane plan worked." Asami pleaded. Mako nodded.

"I think it did." Mako said. The first half hour had been the absolute worst, but things had improved slightly after Wu had finally forced himself to stop falling to the ground after a simple hit. There had even been a couple of times where Wu had tried to hit Mako back. The punches felt like nothing, and only served to get Wu even more off balance, but at least he was learning to fight back. Mako just didn't know how well it would stick. "I hope it did.

"Yeah, well, for both your sakes, so do I." Asami's expression lightened, making her concern shine through more clearly. She took Mako's hand in her own and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Will Wu be okay?"

"He'll probably hate me for awhile, but he'll be fine." Mako said. "He just needs some time." Wu could usually hand difficult times fairly well. Normally he had just one or two temper tantrums, and then handled things in stride. It was just what he did. "He probably won't want to see me right now though."

Mako meant to sound casual when he said that, as though he was just pointing something out, but Asami heard something more in his voice. Something that made her look sympathetic towards him.

"I don't think that kid knows how to hold grudges." Asami said, which Mako scoffed at. She _really_ didn't know Wu the way he did. Wu could hold some very petty grudges when he felt like it. He _was_ related to the late earth queen, after all. "He'll forgive you...eventually."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Mako said moodily, but he found himself giving Asami a small smile. Even though Asami was still mad at him, she was still _trying_ to cheer him up, and it meant a lot.

"Hey, Mako!" The firebender turned away from Asami towards her house where he could see his younger brother leaning out one of the windows. "Your prince friend is crying."

"Yeah, I know." Mako yelled back. "We just got back from training."

"Oh." Bolin looked surprised. "That was today?" Mako groaned.

"Yes, that was today." He answered. "Can you keep an eye on him?" Mako knew that he was probably the last person that Wu would want to see right then, but it wasn't safe for the young man to be on his own and unprotected. Since Wu didn't want to see him, Mako had previously asked Bolin to watch him for a day or two.

"Yeah, I'm on it." Bolin nodded seriously and drew back inside. Mako sighed. He was glad that his brother was willing to do this for him. He knew that Bolin wasn't exactly good pals with Wu. They got along decently enough, but both of them thought that the other was annoying, somewhat pathetic and dumb, easily manipulated, and stole all of Mako's attention...actually, now that Mako was thinking about it, the two of them were a lot alike. Why _didn't_ they like each other?

Mako and Asami headed inside shortly after that. Asami quickly went to go find Korra, while Mako headed upstairs towards Wu's room. Even though he knew that his friend wouldn't want to see him, Mako just wanted to make sure that he was okay.

Mako approached the door to Wu's room, but he didn't enter. Even from outside he could hear the ex prince's sniffles and occasional wails. He could hear that Wu was talking, but he could not for the life of him understand what he was saying. Wu's whines and cries were hard enough to understand when Mako was standing right next to him. It was nearly impossible to interpret the already hard to understand moans when they were being muffled by a closed door.

Bolin though. Mako could make out what _he_ was saying just fine.

"Hey, Mako doesn't hate you." Bolin was using a soft, reassuring tone of voice. It was kind of like what Mako used as a kid whenever Bolin would have a nightmare or a scraped knee. Surprisingly though, even though Bolin wasn't an older brother and Mako was, the earthbender definitely had a better 'big brother' voice. "He's just trying to protect you."

Wu answered in some way, though Mako still couldn't understand him. All he could hear was Bolin's response. "No, I'm being completely serious. Believe it or not, this is how Mako protects people." There was muffled silence for a moment, or, at least it sounded like silence to Mako. Something must have been said because a second later he heard Bolin's laugh. "Yeah, I know, it's crazy, but it's just what he does. _Especially_ for the people that he really cares about."

More silence. "I don't know why. You'll have to talk to him about it." A pause. "Yeah, I guess I wouldn't really want to talk to him either." Mako felt his chest clench at those words. He had _known_ that Wu wouldn't want to talk to or see him, but it still hurt to hear it being confirmed.

Mako didn't want to hear anymore. He already _knew_ that this had been a bad plan, he didn't need to hear just how horrible it was. He knew that Wu was safe and that Bolin was probably taking care of his bruises as they talked. Mako really wouldn't be doing any of them any good by just standing outside the door, listening to their private conversation.

Mako sighed and headed towards 'his' room. After the kidnapping and/or assassination attempt Mako had taken up a semi permanent residence at Asami's place. He even had his own room and everything, even though most of the time he didn't use it because both he and Wu felt better if they shared a room. But since that wasn't really an option right then, Mako figured that now would be as good a time as any to use the room Asami had set aside just for him. That way he wouldn't have to be around Wu, but he would be nearby in case anything happened.

A tiny, horrible part of Mako almost wished that something _would_ happen. Nothing too serious, of course. Just something that would have Wu looking at somebody else as the bad guy instead of Mako. This was just a small desire, and it was overpowered by Mako's will to keep Wu safe.

And if he Wu hated him for it, so be it. Just as long as he was safe.


End file.
